Every Day Magic
by PastellRain
Summary: Slice-of-life AU. Sayaka moves back to her old home, reunites with childhood friend Kyouko and realizes she's changed from a sensitive crybaby to a bold and eccentric troublemaker. Along with the other girls, they have fun and live life to the fullest. Hints of Kyouko x Sayaka and Madoka x Homura.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** So I've been into Madoka Magica lately. I've always wanted to write a slice-of-life story with the girls having normal lives. Now I finally have!

This actually takes place in America rather than Japan, but for the most part I left it ambiguous in the actual story. It would explain why everyone is calling each other by first name with no honorific.

The reason the high school is called "Cascade" is because one of the kanji in "Mitakihara" translates to waterfall or cascade.

In this fic, Sayaka is Kyouko's childhood friend, and doesn't meet all the others until later.

In this story, Sayaka's mom was the one who got her into classical music, instead of it being Kyousuke.

* * *

Sayaka's POV

I woke up to the sight of sunlight filtering through trees.

I had fallen asleep listening to classical music, until a loud song came on and woke me right up!

I was in the car with my mom and dad, and I noticed we were far from home. Buildings grew further and further apart, and tall plants choked the area in green foliage. That's how I knew we were nearing my old home. It was a quaint place. A little rustic, but very cozy.

We were moving back.

As I looked outside the open window of the small car, my hair blowing in the wind, I noticed we were passing by a nostalgic place.

"It's the old park..." I whispered. A smile grew on my face.

That very park was where I met Kyouko. It was such a long time ago, and we were very small then. In fact, it was before either of us even started going to school.

* * *

"Mama... Nobody wants to play with me..."

"Kyouko, you have to speak up if you want to be friends with someone."

That's where I came in...

"Hey." I said to the girl, who was wiping her eyes. "I'll play with you!"

Huh?

I'll never forget the look on her face when I said that. She looked surprised, and then smiled. When she smiled, I noticed she had a fang-like tooth! I thought it was cute.

I remembered feeling good, having made a new friend.

Kyouko was a very shy girl, and cried rather easily. She was bashful and would often cling to me. Once, when we were being told a scary story at school, she held my hand tightly and wouldn't let go of it the whole time. When other kids teased her, she would cry and I would have to scare them away.

She was still fun to be with. Even though she was shy, she was impulsive and liked doing nutty things, such as playing with the fire alarm. We got in all kinds of trouble together. Once we even tried to go on an epic journey, like kids in the movies did. Kyouko and I felt like it was our "destiny". Our parents wouldn't let us, so we had to do it secretly. So we both snuck out of our houses and met each other at the park. Then we walked all the way to McDonalds by ourselves.

For a six-year-old, walking to McDonalds on foot with backpacks filled with a little bit of money and a lot of snacks was a pretty exciting adventure to have. But we still wanted more. We wanted to go somewhere far away and exciting, like France or Egypt! But instead we both got scared by the time night fell, and ended up calling home. Mom wasn't very happy, but it was still a fun memory.

Kyouko was my best friend. But then came the day where I had to move to the city. Kyouko was heartbroken, but I assured her it was fine.

"Sayaka, don't go... You're my best friend..." She cried when I told her the news.

"I'll miss you too. But you'll be okay! I promise." I said.

"But Sayaka, I'll be lonely without you."

"I understood her pain. She didn't have any other friends besides me.

"Well... maybe it's time to come out of your shell." I suggested.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"It means that you shouldn't be shy anymore. Then you'll make a lot of friends, and you won't be lonely. But still... I won't forget you."

"I won't forget you either!" Kyouko said. "Never ever!"

Right before I moved, we went to see fireworks together. Since I was leaving the next day, I wanted the fireworks to last forever. Then I would never have to say goodbye to Kyouko.

Right before I left to go home after the fireworks, Kyouko gave me a bracelet she made.

"It's blue and red. The blue beads are you. The red beads are me." Kyouko said. "Now we'll always be together..."

I hugged her one last time.

"Goodbye Sayaka." Kyouko said to me. "I'll come out of my shell just like you said. I'll make more friends. But I won't ever forget about you!"

* * *

It's been years since then. I still miss Kyouko. Even in my new home in the city, I didn't have a friend quite like her.

I wonder how she's been. I hope I get to see her again.

Hours later, and I'm at the exact house I spent my childhood in. We were back. But it didn't feel the same without Kyouko.

Hey, I said to myself. I decided to look on the bright side. I was starting high school the next day, and maybe Kyouko would be there. In fact, I was absolutely convinced she'd be there. I was excited, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high.

I looked at the bracelet on my hand and smiled. It still held up, even after all these years.

Now that I was back in the suburb, I decided to go out, and look at all the old sights again.

The city was so crowded, full of cars and people, but the suburb was so wide and verdant. It was nice and gave me a sense of freedom. On this warm windy day, I decided to go back down to the old park.

Of course, I'm much too old now to play on the playground at the park. But there were places to play ball and it was a good place to hang out.

As I got to the park, I saw they now had a skateboarding rink. I'd never learned to skateboard. I still wish I could!

On the side, there were a couple of skateboards to rent if you didn't have one. I decided to try it out.

"Whoa!" I slipped.

That didn't go to well. I got back up and laughed sheepishly. Good thing nobody saw...

"Hey."

Well... one person saw.

I looked behind me. There was a girl who wore a T-shirt, baggy pants and a beanie cap with her hair tucked in. She had a skateboard besides her, had her phone sticking out of her pocket, and in her mouth was a stick of Pocky.

"New in town?" She asked me. "Haven't seen you around."

"Uh... yeah." I said.

"Well, I guess at least I don't have to worry about someone upscaling me. You're pretty clumsy, huh?" The girl smirked.

Was this girl looking for a fight?

"What was that now?" I said. "I'll have you know, I take gymnastics."

"Gymnastics huh? I do parkour!"

"That doesn't make you special." I said. "That doesn't give you the right to talk down on me."

We ended up glaring at each other for a long time.

"Humph, yeah?" She finally said.

"Yeah." I nodded with confidence.

"You seem like you're all talk."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

Once again, my headstrong personality pulled me by the hand. But I just couldn't let this girl just push me down!

"Since you're so stubborn, let's settle this." She said. "Show me your best moves."

"What?" I wanted to say. But instead I nodded and told her to give me more space.

I did a series of backwards handsprings, doing a half-spin on the last one and landing on my feet.

"Not bad." She said, "But can you top this?"

She did some mid-air somersaults, and then landed on her hands... only to topple over.

"Uh-oh." She said as she fell, on her bottom. She then began to sprawl out on the ground, letting some hair out of her beanie...

"Whoa, you okay?" I asked, crouching down next to her.

"Yeah. I'm okay..." She said.

I helped her up. Just then, the knot on my bracelet untied itself. Red and blue beads scattered all around the ground. The force of me pulling her up also knocked her beanie off.

Long, red hair tumbled out in all directions. I couldn't believe what I saw.

I opened my mouth, only for her voice to come out first.

"Sayaka!?" She said. She looked at the beads scattered in the grass, then at me, with wide eyes scintillating.

"...Kyouko!?" I exclaimed.

There was a short pause.

"...WHAAAAAAT!?"


	2. Chapter 2

Kyouko didn't recognize me at first. Well, I guess I did look a little different. A little older then I was back then.

But Kyouko, on the other hand, looked exactly the same without that beanie. But the way she acted... it was completely different!

"Kyouko Sakura..." I could hardly believe it. "What happened to you? Why did you try to pick a fight with me?"

"Sayaka..." Kyouko began to look bashful. Finally, I could see a little bit of her old self again.

"Heh, sorry." Kyouko said. "If I knew it was you, I wouldn't have greeted you that way."

We walked to a nearby bench to fix my bracelet and to talk.

"You still seem a little different." I said. "I mean... I'm super happy I'm seeing you again, but..."

"Oh. Oh yeah." Kyouko said. "Well, remember when I said I was going to come out of my shell?"

I nodded. I did remember. After all, it was Kyouko's last words to me.

"Well, I was true to my word. Now I'm so different, I guess you couldn't recognize me!"

I nodded again.

There was a pause.

"Oh, but don't worry, I'm still Kyouko. I haven't changed THAT much. And besides, I wasn't really fighting with you. I was just messing around. It's how I get my kicks. You looked pretty tough, like you could handle my pestering. That's why I chose you. Sorry!"

The new Kyouko sure was... different. She seemed a lot more confident, which was good. I couldn't help feeling that she was trying a little too hard though.

"Heh. I guess it's fine." I said.

"Good to have you back, Sayaka." Kyouko said, grinning.

"I'm glad I got to see you again too, pal." I said.

"So, you going to Cascade high school tomorrow?" Kyouko asked.

"Yeah! Is that where you're going?"

"Yup! This is great, we get to go to the same school again!"

"I hope we're in the same class." I said.

We talked some more, about memories. About pointless stuff.

Then I went home and told the good news to my family that I saw Kyouko again!

Kyouko may be a little different now, but it certainly won't be dull being with her.

* * *

I woke up early the next day wondering where I was at. Then it hit me. We moved. I'm back with Kyouko. Today was the first day of school!

Suddenly, I didn't feel tired anymore, so I got out of bed at six-o-clock. I couldn't wait to go to school now that Kyouko was going with me. There was so much that we could do to pick our friendship up back where we left off.

On the road to school, I saw Kyouko. She was eating Pringles.

"Ready to be the transfer student?" She said.

"Heh, I guess."

"You know, if I were you, I'd make the wildest first impression I possibly could. So have you decided to do something like that?"

"You'll see." I said, smiling.

Indeed, I did have something up my sleeve.

So, there I was, standing outside the classroom waiting for the teacher to come in and introduce myself. Turns out Kyouko's in my class too!

It took a rather long time, but I did hear bits and pieces about what the teacher was saying.

"Never trust a man that complains about how his eggs are cooked!" She said. "Especially if he happens to like... pineapples on pizza!"

The teacher seemed pretty weird.

"Now, I'd like to introduce you to a new student." She said.

That was my cue! I blasted a sad song on my MP3 player and burst into the room.

"I was born with glass bones and paper skin..." I came in to the room dramatically swaying.

"Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon, I break my arms."

The class was staring. It was working!

"At night I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep..." I dramatically succumbed to the ground and curled up into a little ball as the sad tune ended.

The class began to clap at my performance.

"Haha, just kidding. I'm Sayaka Miki and I was born with normal bones and normal skin. Pleased to meet you!"

"Great, another weirdo." I heard the teacher mutter. "I mean... sit in any empty seat you'd like."

I chose the seat right behind Kyouko, next to a girl I didn't know. On the other side of me was the window.

"Now, I'd like to introduce another new student." The teacher said.

There was another one?

"Come on in, Miss Akemi."

As soon as she stepped in, the class began to ooh and ah.

"Her hair is so long!"

As soon as she reached the center of the room, she flipped her hair back, letting it float out behind her.

Her expression was so flat. Something about her seemed... so other-worldly. So cryptic and mysterious.

"My name is Homura Akemi. Pleased to meet you."

That was all she had to say.

The class began to clap, even louder than they had clapped for me.

"She stole my spotlight..." I sunk into my desk.


	3. Chapter 3

Madoka's POV

The girl sitting next to me seemed rather interesting and funny. Her name... I think it was Sayaka?

But I had to wonder about Homura. She had such a cool and mystic aura, and she was pretty. Surely, she's nothing like me. I'm the exact opposite. I'm not cool, nor am I interesting. I wanted to be more like Homura, who probably didn't let things bother her.

When language arts started, Miss Saotome called on Sayaka to answer the question.

"What?" Sayaka said. She wasn't paying attention.

"Correct!" Miss Saotome said. "The five W's are who, were, why, how, and what!"

Sayaka then looked at me and smiled.

"Looks like I was right after all! Haha!" I began to laugh with her. She seemed friendly.

When algebra came, Homura was the only one in class who understood what we were doing, and solved a very complicated problem on the board.

"Wow..." I thought. Homura was cool, and she was talented. She was amazing!

During break time, everyone was crowded around Homura, asking her questions.

"Excuse me..." Homura ended up saying. "I feel a bit dizzy. May I go to the nurse's office?"

"Sure! Just talk to the class health advisor, Madoka." One of the girls said.

Eh? I was going to walk Homura to the nurse's office? Maybe then, I'll be able to find out more about her. In a way, I was excited. Maybe I'll find out the secret of being cool like her.

As soon as I walked out of the class with Homura, however...

"Madoka..." Homura seemed distressed.

"Ah! Are you okay?" I asked her. Was she feeling ill?

"I'm... fine." Homura said. "But... I can't take it anymore, knowing that I'm not cool..." She said.

Huh?

"But... you are cool! I thought you were cool the minute you walked in here!" I said.

"It was all an act..." Homura said. "You see, I kept faking being this mysterious girl all throughout middle school so that people would admire me from afar. I didn't even make any friends that way, because everyone was afraid to approach me. But in reality, I'm this clumsy, stupid girl. There's nothing to admire. I was lying to everyone."

"Eh? Not at all!" I said. "You solved an extremely hard math problem. The whole class was impressed with you!"

"That's because I studied hard to become someone people could look up to. But none of that studying can change what's inside my heart..."

Homura was trying hard not to cry. Knowing that, I hugged her.

"But Homura... You're fine just the way you are. I bet you're still cool either way." I said, smiling. "Okay?"

"Thanks, Madoka..." Homura looked at me fondly. "I'm sorry I deceived you."

"One thing's for sure, your name sure is cool!" I said. "Can I call you Homie?"

Homura began to hold back laughter.

"Come on, let it out." I said.

Homura began laughing heartily and I joined her.

"Homie? Haha, what kind of ridiculous nickname is that?" She laughed.

"A COOL nickname!" I said. I was really surprised to see Homura laugh.

"There's just... one thing I'm worried about..." Homura said when the laughter died down.

"Hm? What?" I said.

"If I go back in there with my real personality, everyone will be surprised I'm showing emotions now and stuff..."

"Oh, yeah..." I said. I could see how that would be unnerving. "Well... just give it a shot. Maybe everyone will like your real personality better!"


	4. Chapter 4

Madoka's POV

"Maybe everyone will like your real personality better!" I suggested.

Homura sighed.

"I... I can't do that Madoka. It would be too weird." She said in a small voice.

"But Homura..." I said.

"I'm sorry." Homura said again. "But I really want you to keep this a secret between only us."

"Well, if that's what you want..." I said. "But don't you want people to see who you really are?"

"Maybe eventually, when I feel comfortable enough." Homura said. "But until I'm ready to spill the beans myself, can you keep a secret?"

"I will." I decided.

"Great!" Homura said, grabbing my hands and smiling. "You're a good friend, Madoka. You're the only one I've ever told about this."

I smiled back. If a friend needed me, I'd be there. I felt a little special that I was the one Homura chose.

When we walked back in the classroom together, Homura had a lack of expression on her face again, and looked blunt and distant. The energy radiating from her had changed. It was like I was walking back in with a whole different person.

"Oh, Homura, you're back!" Miss Saotome said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes." Homura responded with sophisticated equilibrium. "I am fine."

I was impressed at how convincing she was. Homura was really, really good at acting mysterious!

Since there were a few minutes left of break time, I sat back in my seat, only for Sayaka to talk to me.

"Madoka, was Homura okay?" She asked.

I nodded, trying my best to keep the secret.

"She's fine! As soon as we got down there, she started feeling better, so we went back." I tried to make myself sound as convincing as possible, even though I knew I wasn't as good as Homura. She could probably be an actress.

"This is exciting!" The red-haired girl in front of Sayaka kicked her feet up on her desk and took a bite from a candy bar. "A mysterious transfer student! I wonder what secret she could be hiding."

"Y-yeah... I wonder..." I said sheepishly.

"Maybe she's rich! Or a spy! Or an alien!" Kyouko raved.

"Or a rich alien spy!" Said Sayaka.

"Or a time-traveler!" Said Kyouko.

"Homura is probably just a normal girl like the rest of us." I said, giggling. "Maybe she doesn't talk much because she's shy."

"Or maybe she's hiding a really embarrassing secret." Sayaka said. "Like, maybe her laugh sounds funny, and that's why she doesn't laugh."

"Either way, it'll be interesting to learn about her." Kyouko said.

"Hey Madoka, do you want to hang out with us after school?" Sayaka asked.

"Oh... Um, sure!" I said happily.

"Great, we're going to the pool near the park!"

"Oh, sweet!" I said, "I know where that is. We can walk there together!"

I was making friends with Sayaka and Kyouko too! This was great! Maybe I could even invite Homura along with us, then we could all bond even more!

But then I remembered... Homura's secret. Oh no! What was she going to do about it? Was she going to tell Sayaka and Kyouko? Or would she have to hide it from them the whole time?


End file.
